The reason it's on the Trinity River Corridor Project Committee's agenda tomorrow is because that bridge -- which, as more than a few Friends of Unfair Park have pointed out, doesn't really seem to go anywhere at the moment -- is part of the city's bigger-picture vision for the redevelopment of Riverfront Boulevard. At least, a piece of it. You remember that, right?

Why, seems like only yesterday we got our first look at the city's plans to convert that stretch of The Boulevard Formerly Known as Industrial between Cadiz and Continental into a (cough) Complete Street, complete with bike lanes, at the cost of around $54 million (there's only $40 mil on hand, via bond money, county dough and a huge contribution from the North Central Texas Council of Governments). And it seems like only yesterday that a certainly newly elected city council member (Hello, Griggs) wrote something about how the city's proposal was disingenuous at best and just flat-out dangerous at worst.

Well, a year later the council committee will hear Assistant City Manager Jill Jordan explain that the city now has five options when it comes to Riverfront, which the city says will one day "Serve as a major connector between
downtown, Trinity, Cedars West, and the
Design District; link various trails in the area; [and] provide key access to significant tracts of
land with high development potential." (One of those, you may recall, was that 60 acres' worth of JPI land now the possession of Bank of the Ozarks.)

The city can: Make it eight lines for cars with a single cycle track; go down to six vehicular lanes, with two bike lanes; keep what's there and add some "enhanced streetscape"; do nothing; or somehow combine the first three options but shrink 'em at the same time.

The Belleview Connector would, says the city, hit some of that land with "high development potential"; in fact, of all the hike-n-bike trails on the briefing's map of "Planned Bicycle Connections
To Riverfront Blvd.," it's the one that comes closest to the stretch of Industrial being discussed.

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If repositioning all of the un- and under-developed land along Riverfront is our goal, there are only three things that will actually do so sufficiently, any two of which would suffice for making development of these areas make any sense whatsoever: 1) Finish the Trinity River Park, 2) Move the Jail far away, 3) only complete the demolition portion of project Pegasus and tear our the freeways dividing the land into narrow slivers. However, these are all big, time-consuming, and expensive projects, meaning there are likely far better places to leverage public expenditures into private development. Anything but these big, substantive projects is tilting at windmills.

Don't believe it. Dallas will screw it up again. Just like: building the "jail" on the Trinity, building the homeless shelter at Farmers Market, a concrete dog park at CityPark, a dog park, childrens playground and yet ANOTHER amphatheater at Woodall Rogers Park, the concrete Arts District, the WALL at the new Belo Park.........

Interesting plan, that is seeing a radical re-development for the area, and it makes some sense. The area is so blighted that it really offers a lot of up-side. I would imagine that many of the liquor stores will be driven out of business by the law changing the beer/wine sales in Dallas. The promise that West Dallas presents is another great opportunity. The city may be actually doing something that makes sense at least.

Let could go wrong with trees (that the city can not afford to water), bicycles, and distracted drivers leaving/enter the roadway??? And they are only $14,000,000 away from being able to afford it. Does Dallas attract poor planners to does it create them??

The best alternative is under our nose. When Riverfront goes under the UP Railroad bridge it creates a divided outermost lane. This division creates multi-lane boulevard. Continue this cross section and it resolves so many issues for the corridor. It provides a slower speed environment for bicycles, parking cars and transit vehicles. Octavia Blvd is a great example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O... roadway will function much better than an eight lane because the slip lane reduces the number of driveways entering the street and reduces the conflict points between through traffic and turning vehicles.

Your eagerness to tear down freeways is hasty and coupled with your disdain for the jail is troubling. I wonder how "out there" you are. The jail is a huge draw, like it or not. The many courts, and other activity that is executed there should help justify restaurants and other development--after all, there are many officers, judges, jail workers, attorneys and clerks who are regularly down there. Not everywhere can be fairy land where we simply flutter our wings to get about.

u forgot to add the trinity wave strand which the city built w/o getting community input apparently every kayaker in the city complained that the "so called peaceful by-pass channel is too dangerous and no one but professional can utilize it ....so apparently the city has to rebuild it for.....wait 4 it.....wait 4 it......$1,000,000and no one but professional can utilize it ....so apparently the city has to rebuild it for.....wait 4 it.....wait 4 it......$1,000,000

I think the point is that Lew Sterrett is one of the reasons that land around it is undeveloped. If you want to develop that area, move the jail. If you don't want to move the jail, don't expect development. Other than bondsmen and small lunch places for the workers, I can't think of many other businesses (let alone residences) that would want to go in next to to it. Which is probably why they haven't.

So, you don't think the liquor stores are a problem? Their concentration is a vestige of the wet/dry laws that were just repealed. So, as many of those close down, as the bridge is connected to West Dallas, there should be an increase of traffic through that area. It's proximity to Downtown and the Jail, and county court offices should make that area fecund for redevelopment. That is precisely the sort of thing we should hope would happen. Redoing the streets will be needed to connect the bridge, and this presents a great opportunity to take advantages of these many things. I'm sure jails are not such blights in NY, Chigago and other denser cities.